November 17, 2009 – In the 2009 funding year, the Catholic Campaign For Human Development (CCHD)awarded approximately 250 grants totaling almost 8 million dollars. When you open the summary funding document provided on the USCCB website and begin to peruse the grantees it doesn’t take long to arrive at a couple of conclusions. The first is that many of these organizations are involved in community organizing. The second impression is many of these organizations espouse the mission of peace and justice. While it would be a mistake to paint all justice and peace organizations or all community organizing groups as bad or undeserving of funding, the philosophical underpinnings and track record of these types of organizations does not inspire confidence. Quite the opposite, it raises red flags.As you begin to go to the individual websites of some of these organizations, and look around and see what they are doing, the uneasy feeling about just how these organizations are using your collection donations only gets worse. Structural discrimination; opposition to military recruiting; empowerment; voter guides that equate support for the poor, death penalty opposition and several other issues as equal in value to the fight against abortion; radical Alinsky style non-violent training and activism, support of undocumented people (illegal aliens), opposition to WTO, NAFTA, CAFTA are just a few of the surprises in store for the intrepid that have the desire and time to investigate the 2009 CCHD grantees.Bellarmine Veritas Ministry has released two separate reports over the past couple of months identify organizations funded by CCHD that support causes or have taken positions in opposition to Church teaching. CCHD recently responded to these charges be defunding two of these organizations, but continue to fund others that were uncovered by Bellarmine Veritas’ investigation. The explanation provided for this decision was “bizarre” according to Michael Hitchborn of American Life League (ALL). ALL released a video response to the CCHD’s explanation which points out the organizations that CCHD did not defund support same sex marriage, legalization of prostitution and abortion.

Yesterday ALL released detailing six additional organizations funded by CCHD that are engaging in anti-Catholic activities. Here is that list:

4) Little Village Environmental Justice Organization ($40,000) promoted birth control and homosexual lifestyles in its newsletter to teens.

5) Massachusetts Community Labor United ($30,000) joined “Cure CVS Now” coalition to expand access to condoms.

6) Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center ($25,000) lists Cincinnati National Organization for Women, International Socialist Organization, and several pro-homosexual groups as “friends and colleagues” on its website.

Prior to ALL’s report we had started our own investigation of CCHD funding. Coincidentally one of the first organizations we looked at was one cited by American Life League: Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC) in Cincinnati, OH.

In addition to what ALL is reporting, we also found that the IJPC continues to support Amnesty International even though the Church as broken all ties with this pro-abortion organization. Additionally AJPC shows as one of their allied organizations, the radical, far left, anti-war group Code Pink.

CCHD director Ralph McCloud told the Catholic News Service that groups are vetted through an approval process before receiving funding: “There are so many screens along the way. We have the local (committees) looking at the organization, the local diocesan director. The local bishops will sign off and endorse the organization. Then national staff will have interviews and interact with the group.”

“Given how easily we discovered CCHD funding going to anti-Catholic causes, the only two possibilities are that the CCHD is incompetent or complicit,” responded Michael Hichborn, American Life League’s lead researcher into CCHD funding said. “We’re finding more and more evidence every day with far less information than the CCHD receives through its granting process.”

Hichborn is correct. We were able to uncover the information cited above on the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center with only a small amount of Internet research. Moreover we are convinced, based upon our very cursory review, that a thorough review of all of the grantees in the 2009 CCHD funding list is necessary. Sadly, based upon the track record to date, one can safely assume that there will be a significant number of other organizations that engage in or support activities that are in opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Church that will be uncovered from a thorough vetting of grantees.

ALL and several other groups including, Human Life International, the Bellarmine Veritas Ministry, Catholic Radio International, Real Catholic TV and the Catholic Media Coalition have formed a group called, The Reform CCHD Now Coalition. This group is calling on Catholics everywhere to boycott the CCHD donation this Sunday by dropping our ‘No, Thank You” statement in the collection basket,’ said Hichborn. The “No Thank You” coupon can be found on the Reform CCHD website. Also on the website are a list of organizations serving and representing the poor in an authentically Christian way.

Based upon our brief review of the CCHD grantees for 2009 we support this call for withholding support for CCHD in Sunday’s collection in parishes throughout the U.S. Many, many Catholics who financially support the Church will be dismayed, disheartened and angry that the Church thru CCHD continues to fund organizations that engage a broad range of activities that are directly opposed Catholic teaching.

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8 responses

When even the nominally conservative Catholic Church is funneling money to repulsive antiAmerican organizations such as ACORN and Code Pink, one shudders to think what liberal Methodists and other denominations are doing!

This is so crazy, thanks for the heads up because I would never have known and would have donated. I hope they don’t get mad when they find the coupon in my envelope, not good to be on the black list with church!! I will use it though, if they get in touch with me afterwards I’ll refer back to the blog so they understand exactly what the problem is. Thanks again!

We pick our charities very carefully after researching where the money goes, and we try to donate to local charities so the money stays local. As a child, I always trick-or-treated for UNICEF. I wonder if the worlds’ children ever saw a benefit from the money I collected. Seems I get more cynical every day. (The day will eventually come when I won’t be able to stand myself. LOL)

Donating to local charities makes good sense because being local, we are better able to oversee them: find out how much the charity spends on administrative costs vs. actual charity, if it’s honest, etc.

We have a thrift store in town which takes donations. When a family or person is in need, the thrift store supplies whatever they can to help (clothing, money, food, furniture, etc.) Most of the people working there are volunteers. Another charity we have is through hubby’s job. Every Christmas they adopt as many families they can in our area and provide clothes, food, and a few toys for the children. All the money donated by the crew is matched by the company, and there aren’t any administrative costs. The secretary at work does the shopping. We also donate to a local hospice, and we always donate to Toys-For-Tots. Our motorcycle club has toy drives for the local kids, too. We have a great small town here with many good people. We are fortunate.

We think that todays administration under President Obama or previous political parties had a goal of enforcing our immigration laws. But corrupt politicians intervened on behalf of the open border fanatics and special interest lobbyists. As with E-Verify that has become a spotlighted enforcement law, because it was originally nearly tabled by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). But public uproar caused them to forcibly change their decisions and fully fund E-Verify for another 3 years. WITHOUT PUBLIC SUPPORT THEY WOULD NOT HAVE CAVED-IN? Right now it is the–ONLY–true enforcement tool implemented, but it is only as good–IF–business owners are forced to use it. Even though hundreds of thousands of companies have now decided to apply it, yet it is not MANDATORY? It is up to the discretion of employers? In a few states Representatives have introduced it into law, as with the fed’s issuing an ultimatum that all contractors/subcontractors must use E-Verify.
Justifiably bloggers should be either criticized for their anti-sovereignty stand, or praised for informing the unaware public of the taxpayers money needed to fund a 2009-2010 Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Rewarding the millions already illegally squatting here, with the costs to support families, children and those kin who will come here through sponsorship. THEN THE MILLIONS MORE WHO HAVE HEARD THE CALL FOR AMNESTY AND RUSH TO GET HERE FROM POOR NATIONS, BEFORE THE NEW LAW MATERIALIZES?

House Judiciary Committee’s Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) wrote an op-ed for the Washington Times today He stated that the Washington Times had slammed the Obama Administration for hardened enforcement. While the opposite reaction came from the open border advocates saying there was too much enforcement. However Rep. Smith determined the opposite? This is his statement:-

* Rescinding of the “no-match” rule that prevents the Social Security Administration from contacting employers when a new hires name and social security number don’t match their records. “Without this protection, many employers will continue to employ individuals they know are illegal and are taking jobs that should go to citizens and legal residents,” Smith said.
* Repeal of REAL ID in lieu of PASS ID, which makes it easier for illegal aliens to obtain a driver’s license. “This makes it easier for illegal immigrants to stay in the country. And it can provide terrorists with a legitimate ID – as we saw with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists, who between them obtained 30 driver’s licenses and ID cards,” Smith said.
* Lack of funding for an airport biometric exit system that is part of a DHS proposal to monitor when foreign visitors leave the country. “40 percent of all 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States entered the country legally but overstayed their visas. This program will show who did not leave the country when they should have,” Smith said.
* Restricted the 287(g) program by limiting the ways local law enforcement officials can help federal immigration enforcement officials.
* No funding for border fence, which was required by the Secure Fence Act of 2006.
* Signing the CHIP bill making it easier for illegal aliens to get health care.
* Reduced work site enforcement by shifting the focus away from the illegal workers and onto the businesses that hire them.
* Allow states to provide in-state tuition to illegal aliens even though it violate federal law.

Reading the Washington Times indicates to me, that they are pro illegal immigration, that is not in the American workers interest. They have consistently reacted to any enforcement of laws. They are obviously adverse to any immigration restriction, as the majority of the national press have indicated to us. Unlike the rural media who do not condone DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano’s rush to OVERPOPULATION through another BLANKET AMNESTY? Grade your Senator of Congressman/Woman on NUMBERSUSA website. Call them and reprimand them for approving another AMNESTY or anything else at 202-224-3121. The people of America have been blindsided to long and must become more involved. We all no by now we cannot trust our government anymore to do the right thing for all of us. To survive we must fight back or financially–SINK. Washington is truly a corrupt place, where taxpayers money is the bargaining chip. Read all at JUDICIAL WATCH, CAPSWEB, ALIPAC, CAPSWEB, AMERICAN PATROL & THE DARK SIDE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.